Summer fun

I guess it's been awhile since I last updated the blog. We've been busily enjoying our summer.

Alex returned home from the Midwest on August 7th, just in time for the Olympics. He had an absolutely marvelous trip. Grandpa saved the best for last since they attended a Cubs game at Wrigley Field on the day before Alex came home. The Cubs put up an "8 spot" in one inning and went on to win 11-4 against the Astros. Sean told my dad that he had to sing "Go Cubs Go" at the end of the game if the Cubs won. Alex made sure that Grandpa followed through.

I rarely talked to Alex during the trip as he was always too busy. Grandpa made a few calls to me, but I mostly talked to my mom. Her funniest comment: "I swear if I wasn't there, Alex and Grandpa would probably sleep in the same room together!" Those 2 are just like peas in a pod. They are already making their list for next year's adventures.

Aunt Dude and Grandma Hested encouraged Alex to make a scrapbook about his trip. As soon as he got back, he was hammering away at me to go to the craft store. After 2 trips and about 2 afternoons, he put together a great scrapbook. He is very proud of his effort and it should be something he can hang onto and add to for future trips. What a fun (and potentially expensive) hobby.

Emma thoroughly enjoyed her time without Alex around. The house was noticeably quieter and calmer. I didn't have to referee nearly as often, although Benjamin certainly knows how to push Emma's buttons as well. Emma and Benjamin did have fun making welcome home banners for Alex. I think they turned out nicely. Benjamin did all his own painting.

Last week was pretty quiet other than scrapbook making and a few appointments for Benjamin. Of course, we also did lots of Olympics watching as well. With Alex's new found interest in swimming, we were all very interested in watching the swim races. Wow! Michael Phelps is incredible. Sean and I also had a few late nights watching gymnastics.

A couple observations from Emma about the Olympics...While we were watching the men's gymnastics, she saw someone with very muscular arms and she said, "That guy has nut arms." We pretty sure she means that his upper arms look like a peanut shell to her. Now every time we see a muscular guy (and some of the women as well), we have to comment on the nut arms. Emma also was checking out the women's gymnastic uniforms. She kept wondering when we would see another routine from someone with a "ruby red shiny hiney". The US women fit that bill.

Sean is currently in Albuquerque, NM for a quick visit to Sandia National Labs. He has been working on various projects/ideas with some of the researchers out there. The bonus is that he gets to see his step-brother, Jerry, who lives there. He went out early this morning so he could spend a little time with him and so they could celebrate Jerry's birthday.

We visited the State Capitol today. The kids have been asking for awhile, so I thought we better do it before school starts again. It was much easier to go with Benjamin walking than it was the last time I visited. Previously, he was in a stroller and we were visiting with Emma's daycare group. For the entire field trip, I was running back and forth between the elevators and the stairs to keep up with the group. Today, we walked through the entire Capitol and then enjoyed lunch downtown. Grandma Mindy joined us for the trip. She hadn't been there in years, so it was fun to see.